Waltraud H. Johnson

Waltraud H. Johnson

OGDEN - Waltraud Helga Johnson waited 23 years to be reunited with her beloved husband, Joseph. Her sudden death from a heart attack on Tuesday, April 12, 2011 made their reunion possible.

She was born May 23, 1937 in Germany and as a young girl, she experienced the stark realities of war as she repeatedly ran for cover in the bomb shelters of Berlin during World War II. She carried a scar on her leg from shrapnel that hit her during one bombing raid. She immigrated to the US with an American GI to whom she was briefly married. She became a US citizen in 1967. She was a Kelly girl in the 1960s and 70s with strong bookkeeping skills.

In 1975, she married the love of her life a€" Joseph Johnson. Although they did not have any children together, she loved her stepchildren and Joseph''s extended family. She reached out and became close friends with Joseph''s ex-wife, Joye. After Joseph retired, they moved to Utah where they owned and lived at Beehive Self Storage on Wall Avenue in Ogden. They saved for years and then designed and built their dream home, including solar panels, which were progressive for their time.

Waltraud traveled regularly to Germany to spend time with her cousins Monika, Karin and Gerhard, and Sven. She also enjoyed traveling to other countries and exploring the west and New England. Her love of birds was her most ardent passion. She lost track of how many bird feeders she owned and single-handedly kept flocks alive through the winter with regular feedings. She often went to Wendover with her dear friends Ed and Nancy and spent the entire day placing two-dollar bets on horse racing. She loved animal movies, but only those with happy endings. She was an avid reader, especially of World War II history books and helped translate The Berlin Candy Bomber by Gail S. Halvorsen. If she chose to become a friend, she was loyal for life. Eddie Malloy, her favorite painter, and his partner Reggie, were close friends and many of Eddie''s paintings adorned her walls. She enjoyed taking her friends out to dinner, playing gin rummy and bingo, and supporting WSU soccer. After Lance and Michelle cleaned her windows, they became dear friends and shared a love for birds. She endeared herself to her Ridgemont Condominium neighbors. She loved the large pond outside her condo because it drew so many birds to her home even though it flooded her basement twice.

She is survived by her eight stepchildren: Becky, Liz, Amy, Joe, Frank, Jeff, Joni and Julie. Waltraud was an only child, preceded in death by her parents.

Funeral services will be Saturday at 11 a.m. at Lindquist''s Ogden Mortuary, 3408 Washington Blvd. Family will meet friends at the mortuary on Saturday from 9:45 to 10:45 a.m. Interment, Ogden City Cemetery. Send condolences to the family at: www.lindquistmortuary.com